Arte California

Waking in the Trees (Watch for the Giant Dragonfly!)

The road to our friends’, Brent and Susanna’s house is scary at first….but breathtakingly beautiful. The narrow trail winds through a redwood forest in the Santa Cruz mountains near Los Gatos, dangerously close, at times, to the edge of the mountain…but the air is fresh and smells of eucalyptus and I get high from the joy of even being there.

I loved it that our directions told us to “watch for the giant dragonfly”. I think that summed up the entire experience quite nicely!

Apart from my husband and children, I admire Brent Sumner more than just about anyone…and now that he has married his beautiful love, Susanna, there is another person in the mix to love and admire. Brent is an artist in every respect of the word. His entire life is a work of art, and it appears he has chosen the perfect partner to share it all with. Susanna is a practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine and together, they are building a beautiful home on the side of the mountain.

The instant we arrived, we were surrounded by creativity, art and beauty….not that there is a difference between any of those things. Brent seems to have mastered the art of living. He is respectful of the earth, and tries to minimize his impact on it. He uses things from nature to carve out this incredible existence, and is one true inspiration!

This our car at the beautiful entrance gate that Brent built.

Their house is a work in progress, still under construction, built into the side of the mountain, almost entirely from recycled materials by Brent, himself. It is multi-leveled and beautiful and cozy, at once. When we arrived, Brent was working on the upper level, creating a room for Susanna to practice her Ayurvedic medicine

The picture above was taken facing the house. The picture below is of the view from the other direction. Everything is about nature there. Everything is beautiful.

These sweet tempered glass mosaic globes line the walk up the drive to the house.

They are solar powered. At night, they glow with beautiful color, lending a magical overtone to the environment.

There are artful little touches everywhere, such as these mosaics on the steps that were created by Brent’s lovely dynamo of a mum, Dhaj, in her 80’s and currently visiting Turkey. Dhaj lives in New Zealand, but visits Brent and Susanna when she can. We were sorry to have missed her again this year. Dhaj is a force to be reckoned with!

The living room/kitchen of the house is a long, narrow room with a bank of windows that overlooks the mountainside. Susanna and Brent prepared a lovely dinner for us the night we got there, and a delicious breakfast the next morning.

We had cocktails made from the passionfruit that grows right outside their door. Brent scratched some designs into the fruit even before it was picked.

Everything about this hobbit house is artful and beautiful. Brent did a lot of the interior work using his product, Darjit! a sculpting compound that he makes from recycled materials.

Perhaps the highlight of our stay was sleeping in the treehouse that night. Brent built this himself, with a little help from his friends. I think my son, Myles, helped at some point, too.

It was sooooo wonderful waking up in the forest with such a magnificent view! The air was fresh and crisp and cool, and the sounds of the forest were incredible! Brent had warned me that I probably wouldn’t want to get out of bed the next morning, and he was right. I could have stayed in that spot forever!

The picture that follows is a view of the upper room of the treehouse as seen from the bed on the far end of the room. As you can see, it is open to the air…(and the lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) on one side. Delightful!

This is the beautiful outdoor shower in the main house. It smells of fresh spearmint and flowers. This is what it looks like when you face the shower….

However, if you turn around and let the water wash over your back, THIS is your view! Nirvana!

There were happy little hummingbirds all over the place. They are my favorite birds. I think I know how they feel living up on the mountain near Brent and Susanna, and I must say…..I am a little envious.

Feeling deep gratitude in my heart today, that Brent and Susanna are our friends, and feeling very thankful for this beautiful experience that they gifted us with. Thanks, guys. With love.

5 responses

And I’m sure Brent and Susanna will warmly welcome you and your family there, sweetheart. You will love Susanna! She is so beautiful….inside and out. In 2015, we will be spending another 3 week vacation in Cali. That should give you plenty of time to arrange to meet us for at least a week, right? I want you to have this experience, too. Love you.

Stacy, what a cool post about us and the property, great photography…
thanks for the many compliments, we loved having you guys here and look forward to seeing you again, and your daughter of course…love S&B

You may have trouble getting rid of me, after I take up permanent residence in the Home Tree. 🙂 I really look forward to meeting you, Susanna. I especially want to know more about Ayurvedic medicine; the topic has always fascinated me. Mom says Brent’s work on the place is amazing. I look forward to seeing it, and to meeting you! xoxo